Teljas, Camilla

The home, the woman and the moral : In Malmö city's child welfare investigations 1930-1936 (English)

Abstract [en]

This study, a narrative analysis of it, deals with the term, home, its importance and the use of it by Child welfare investigators in the city of Malmö between the years 1930-1936. Commonly used and acknowledged, home stood for security and order while the term, street, had just the opposite meaning. Living in the countryside symbolized health and sensibility, while city life was considered to be cramped, dirty and immoral. The responsibility of achieving the liberals and conservatives ideal of a sunny, clean and orderly home was given to the woman of the house, as was the task of keeping the home morally correct, and providing the necessary atmosphere for proper upbringing of the children. Consequently, the basis of theory, using Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in regards to the conflicts between the upper and lower classes, and even theories of Jane Lewis of woman´s connection to home and family, have been the grounds for the study. The very detailed results show that home and morals play a major role in the investigations and prove above all, the intimacy between the home and woman.